Joshua
Pierce is a talented pianist. His recordings of contemporary
repertoire and light fare have been received with glowing reviews
in these pages and elsewhere (see for example review
1 and review
2). His recent line of romantic period concertante releases
on MSR has not been quite so well received, largely as a result
of unsatisfactory orchestral accompaniment and intense spotlighting
of the piano (see for example review
1, review
2 and review
3).

This
disc is the first volume in a projected series of Schubert
recordings that, judging by the date of the session documented
here, may already be in the can awaiting release. As Eric
Salzman's detailed and entertaining liner notes made clear,
this series is not intended to be another that furthers the
myth of Schubert as a “sweet, innocent creature out of the
operetta Blossom Time … prodigious talent unrecognized”. For
Salzman, and presumably for Pierce, Schubert was the darling
of the empire’s bohemians, brimming with absolute confidence
that he and he alone could take Beethoven’s place as Vienna’s
pre-eminent composer.

Pierce’s
performances of Schubert’s music seem to reflect this viewpoint. He
is a knowing guide to the B flat major sonata rather than a
wide-eyed innocent like Christian Zacharias, whose gorgeous
performance of D.960 is a firm favourite of mine (it is now
available in a ridiculously cheap 5 disc set of Schubert's
sonatas from EMI France 7297214 3675452, and in EMI’s 50 disc Schubert
Box). Pierce’s approach is rhetorical, constantly questioning
and probing. This can be disconcerting, and I am not convinced
by his rubato in the first movement, which sounds a touch mannered
with Pierce stretching note lengths and highlighting the bass
register rumblings. Once past the initial point-making, his
performance begins to flow more naturally.

He
finds power and lyricism side by side in a fluent reading of
the andante, which does not linger as much as may be expected
after the rhetoric of the first movement. The scherzo is bright
and breezy, but becomes strangely blocky in the central modulation
before the first subject returns in a new key of C sharp (as
opposed to B flat) major. The finale makes a strong impression,
but the articulation feels exaggerated in places and the overall
arc of the movement is not maintained, so that the final bars
when they arrive do not feel inevitable.

If
you are looking for a new recording of the B flat major sonata
there are a couple of relatively recent releases that would
rank ahead of this one. Leon Fleisher's 2004 recording on Two
Hands, the album that marked his return to playing
with two hands after successful treatment for dystonia, is
superb. With Fleisher there is measured excitement to the
scherzo and the finale, but the first two movements are distinguished
by an unforced lyricism and a natural rubato. Fleisher leads
the ear through Schubert's paragraphs and although the composer
uses relatively thick chords, at no stage does the vertical
overwhelm the horizontal in his performance. One feels that
Pierce does not quite manage this, as the key changes and shifts
in harmony sometimes seem more important to him than the melodic
flow of the music.

Also
worth seeking out is Brendel's live recording from June 1997,
recently released on a Philips "Artist's Choice" double
(475 7191), together with D.784, D.840, D.894 and D.959. Under
Brendel's experienced fingers the first movement emerges naturally
as if in mid phrase, with delicate pianissimo. His pulse is
rock solid beneath the delicacy, though, and his generous rubato
has a natural ebb and flow. There is latent power underneath
the singing melody, where Pierce is perhaps more overt and
menacing in contrasting lyricism with darker undercurrents. Brendel's
tone is expectedly gorgeous, especially in the andante which
here is dark and soulful: when dawn breaks, it does so gently.

Pierce’s
performance is not quite the equal of these two, but there
are interpretative points of difference that make it worth
hearing and Pierce’s skill and polish are never in doubt.

Turning
to the couplings, the rare and diminutive Allegretto in C minor
is a welcome inclusion and is played contemplatively by Pierce. As
Salzman notes in the booklet, this piece is a seventh Moment
Musicaux in all but name. The ghost of Beethoven hovers low
over this emotional little piece, as Schubert refracts into
C minor thematic references to the menuetto of Beethoven’s
sonata in D major Op.10 No.3, and makes more general use of
Beethoven’s doleful expressive devices.

There
is a deliberate confidence to Pierce’s performances of the
Moments Musicaux proper, with pathos beneath the beauty and
dark colours very much to the fore, not only in the minor key
trio of numbers 3 to 5, but also in his rhetorical performance
of the final piece. Though Pierce is a little arch in the
third piece of the series, on the whole this is impressive
Schubert playing, with judicious pedalling, vivid contrast
in tone colour, finely tuned dynamic control and a natural
rubato that was missing in places from Pierce’s recording of
the sonata.

The recorded sound is sympathetically warm, but not over
reverberant.

Slight reservations about the sonata aside, this is a disc
worth hearing, and taster of what may prove to be a valuable
Schubert series.

Reviews
from previous monthsJoin the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the
discs reviewed. detailsWe welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin
Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to
which you refer.